ASEAN official condemned by Foreign Ministry

China has criticized a top Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) official for damaging the body's reputation by deviating from its neutrality on the South China Sea issue.

"We ask Le Luong Minh to do things well in his duty and abide by ASEAN's neutral stance on the issue of the South China Sea," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

Le, secretary-general of AESAN, told the Manila Times in an interview that China's nine-dash line, the demarcation line for China's claim to the South China Sea, stance on the South China Sea is not binding on any claimant.

The nine-dash line was first officially published on a map in 1948 and has been included on subsequent maps, according to documents.

The spokesman reaffirmed that China's sovereignty and relevant claims over the South China Sea are grounded in history and law and China's stance on the South China Sea is clear and consistent.

"What has happened over past years is impacting on our work in striving to achieve a community," Le said.

Hong said Le should not promote his private interests in a public office and asked him to make a positive contribution to the development of the China-ASEAN relationship.

"ASEAN doesn't belong to any individual country, it belongs to all members of the association," he said.

It is not the first time that Le, former deputy foreign minister of Vietnam, has made a controversial statement.

Last year, Le, told the Wall Street Journal that "we have to get China out of the territorial waters of Vietnam", when commenting on China's deployment of an oil rig in the South China Sea.